Hate speech and proffering war online using social media, particularly Facebook has contributed to South Sudan’s return to conflict. As Juba burns, the role of social media, online hate speech and rumor is becoming clear.

By voicing concern, Russia and Angola delayed a further round of targeted sanctions against South Sudanese leaders proposed by the UN Security Council. Many have explained this action as part of the growing geopolitical competition between Russia and the West. And while such may be the case, the timing of these sanctions is dangerous for peace and has an inherently problematic dynamic.

On August 26th, President Salva Kiir of South Sudan reluctantly signed a peace deal that would end nearly 20 months of fighting between government troops and rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – in-opposition (SPLM-IO). Nine days earlier on August 17th, at a ceremony in Ethiopia, Kiir had refused to sign the agreement, although Riek Machar, head of the SPLM-IO and other political entities signed the deal.

Since the fracturing of the South Sudanese military in December 2013, South Sudan has been embroiled in civil war. As ongoing peace negotiations are likely to contain transitional security arrangements that would contain provisions to integrate non-statutory armed forces into the South Sudanese military, it is important to understand what factors previously compromised the implementation of military integration prior to 2013. This article explores four of these factors.

The targeted sanctions announced by the UN Security Council with respect to the conflict in South Sudan, once again raise major questions regarding the use of targeted sanctions as peacebuilding tools. There is no doubt that accountability is an essential component to sustainable peace in South Sudan but sanctions of this kind applied in the manner they have, are not a useful method of holding account.

Although the civil war that began in December 2013 is largely a product of a political/military power struggle, the general insecurity in South Sudan stems from numerous, intertwined factors. All of these factors have to be addressed for South Sudan to find long-lasting and sustainable peace. This backgrounder will briefly examine the major factors responsible for insecurity in South Sudan.

On June 17, 2014, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies held its 15th Senior Leaders Seminar in Washington D.C. The theme was Regional Responses: Security Sector Reform and Rule of Law. This is a video of a presentation made at the seminar by Ibrahim Wani, the Director of Human Rights, United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

The Stimson Center’s report “Will They Protect Us for the Next 10 Years?” Challenges Faced by the UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan, examines the growing challenges faced by the UN mission (UNMISS) and how best to address them. In addition to examining the threats and challenges faced by the UNMISS, the report provides recommendations on how it can best prioritize its scarce resources. These recommendations are summarized here.

South Sudan’s security sector faces a multitude of issues, including lack of funds, lack of equipment, low institutional capacity, as well as poor training and education. As it stands, the government has yet to successfully address two issues crucial for the achievement of a professional security sector: disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), which would help reduce the size of the armed forces, and ethnic patronage and ethnic imbalance within the army and police.

South Sudan is the world’s youngest nation, having come into existence on 9 July 2011. The state emerged from decades of civil war with Khartoum, which ended in 2005 when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed. But with time, despair began to replace hope as Africa’s newest nation has slowly disintegrated. With citizens losing faith in the government, the nation is more divided than ever before.